Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - January 25, 2015

I realize I was a no-show here last Sunday. You have my apologies. I really didn't have much to update and hadn't taken any photos.

For those of you interested in television, I've checked out the cast for the upcoming Survivor season in posts at this Worlds Apart Casting blog tag. The last installment of that will be up this afternoon. I also continue to post daily photos from my archives on my photo blog I Shoot Stuff I See.

Although I'm still having headaches and some dizziness, I'll be going back to work tomorrow. I have a new doctor who actually prescribed some medication instead of the last one who just kept telling me to take over the counter drugs and giving me time off from work -- roughly doing nothing for me. I actually don't think the new meds are helping a lot, but I'll see how it goes.

We had a snowstorm here Friday night into Saturday, but I didn't go out for photos. Apparently I'll get plenty of opportunity to get snow shots as we have a storm forecast for tomorrow into Tuesday ... or Wednesday. Oy. I needed that on my return to work! (No, I didn't!) Right now a Winter Storm Watch is up starting 1pm tomorrow with heavy snow expected to come tomorrow night. If it's heavy enough, it will turn to a Winter Storm Warning. And, if it's bad enough, I may end up staying home Tuesday. We'll see.

Onto what photos I've taken, none a work of art:

Vincent in nap mode

Vincent is going to miss me being around. I'm sure he'll nap a lot. But he won't have me to be his human couch. This is him in his chair by my computer chair. Yes, he has a comfy toss pillow atop the chair.

I met a dog

I actually met the dog twice in the same spot. His owner ties him up to go into the local bodega. The first day I saw the owner tying the dog and entering. A few days later, I saw the dog already tied up and spotted the owner inside. The owner seemed tickled that I knew it was his dog and said the dog is safe to pet. I got out before him, so I approached the dog. Awww, it's a sweetie. When I got home, Vincent was not happy. He knew I petted a dog.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

What the heck is this?

Nonononono, this simply cannot be. My neighborhood only has a few actual houses and the rest is apartment buildings and churches. In all the years I've lived here, we've NEVER had a boarded up house! About a decade ago there was an old Victorian just over the street intersection line they were rehabbing and boarded up for a while. Unfortunately, that caught fire and they built town homes on the lot there.

This house in the photo has been occupied since I moved here over 13 years ago. It's been well-maintained all that time. It's large -- I think it's probably cut into at least five or more apartments with at least one apartment in the attic. I would have to assume foreclosure although I couldn't find it listed online. I found the taxes themselves are a bit prohibitive -- about 12,000 a year. But someone needs to buy this and get it unboarded!

It's still Christmas time?

I had to go into Scotch Plains after dark to get a prescription. I had noticed in daylight hours that they hadn't taken down their holiday decorations a few weeks ago. Well, not only are they still up, they're still lighted every night.

New name, new awning

My local bodega around the corner got a brand new red awning this week, replacing a decades old one. They changed their name, too. So, now it's the Welcome Supermarket. It's been 1 Stop (on previous awning) and Magic (on ATM slips). It's still run by the same folks, though. These are the people who charged my cell phone for me during the Sandy power outage as they were running generators.

Karen had tiny hands in 1992

Karen and some of her little friends marked the sidewalk near my apartment with their tiny hands in 1992. I wonder if they've ever returned to check it out since then.

Scratch pad napping

Now, don't go feeling sorry for Vincent! He does have many more comfortable places to nap. As he continues to rip apart his scratching doohickey with both his claws and teeth, he still considers it a napping spot. Meanwhile, I'm constantly sweeping up cardboard bits.